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MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed from our readers. This week we have questions on why only Safari updates require restarts, trial periods for Apple's "Backup" utility, files not staying in place on the Desktop, and an alternative for the "Print Window" feature from the Classic Mac OS. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few here, we certainly welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Safari updates requiring a restart

MacFixIt reader Duane asks:

When … Read more

In several situations when running OS X you may encounter question marks. Of course there should definitely be one somewhere on your keyboard (likely next to the right Shift key), but there are other instances where question marks may appear in the system where there shouldn't be one. Usually these indicate an instance in which the system cannot locate a specified file, location, or other resource and in its confusion shows a question mark.

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When OS X boots, it will by default use the boot volume that is set in the PRAM, but if that setting is not … Read more

When it comes to music software, there is one fact that's impossible to deny: There's no shortage of digital jukeboxes available for download. (Whether you like the choices is another matter entirely). As such, it's a special challenge for companies to get their offerings to stand out from the herd. Magix makes quite the impressive attempt with Mufin Music Player, though.

This handy music manager integrates a digital sound analyzer that aims to provide you with a list of songs similar to whichever track you select at any given moment. In other words, rather than using humans … Read more

The Spotlight menu can be very useful for finding files on the hard drive; however, besides just presenting files and allowing you to open them, there are other options for Spotlight that can make using it more useful. After you have performed a search in the Spotlight menu, using the following options will allow you to change how the menu handles the results.… Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed from our readers. This week we have questions on opening files directly leading to the launched application being treated like it's being opened for the first time, how to consolidate hierarchies of files of the same type into one folder, and the difference between iChat and FaceTime. We continually answer e-mail questions, and while we present a few here, we certainly welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Opening files directly causes first-time application launch warning

MacFixIt … Read more

TinkerTool is a small, free app that lets you tinker with your user preferences, allowing access to options that you can't find through System Preferences. These "hidden" preferences--extras like adding scroll arrows to both ends of scroll bars--exist for a variety of reasons, but are usually invisible to users without the help of an app like TinkerTool.

TinkerTool's preferences are organized under 10 main headings: Finder (for options like showing hidden files or restricting the Finder), Dock, General (a lot of useful options, including control over scroll arrows and screenshot file formats), Applications, Snow Leopard (with … Read more

Apple has always been an advocate of the simplicity provided by the computer mouse, and for the longest time provided only one-button mice for use with Macs. Though the mouse allows for manipulations onscreen to be done easily and quickly, for some tasks, such as navigating the Finder, the use of the mouse is slower than using the keyboard.

If you are used to using the mouse for navigating through files and folders, you might benefit from giving the keyboard a try. There are several ways to use the keyboard for navigation, but the most common is the arrow keys … Read more

When composing or editing documents, one common task may be to locate the document in the Finder so you can copy it to an e-mail, back it up, rename it, give it a label, or otherwise change it around. There are several ways to reveal the document in the Finder, but most are relatively cumbersome.

The most obvious may be to click the Finder icon in the Dock and then navigate to the location of the saved document, and make the desired changes. Though using keyboard shortcuts and other Finder navigation techniques can speed this up, you can easily do … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed from our readers. This week we have questions on boot camp drivers not installing on MacBook systems, how to undo the Terminal command to disable DNS prefetching in Safari, black rectangles appearing over Finder items, and how many CPU settings are recommended for use with Windows XP in Parallels Desktop.

Question: Boot Camp drivers not installing on MacBook

MacFixIt reader "Michelle" asks:

I have a Core duo first-generation MacBook (one of the black ones). I have recently decided to put Windows on my Mac for software incompatibility … Read more